Merciless
by AtemxYugi
Summary: Working all his life, Yugi Mutou only knows the hardships of the world. But what happens when the mysterious man named Yami walks into his life and makes a promise even he isn't sure he'll be able to keep?
1. Prologue

Soooo, hey, people! Sorry I haven't posted anything for, well, like, forever. But hey, what you gonna do? I have been busy with school and stuff, blah, blah, blah. This is my new story which I thought up a few days ago and have suddenly fallen in love with so expect a good few updates! It's a bit random but I love it. 8D Oh... and don't worry, people! 'What If?' will be updated very soon! I just have to, er, re-read it and remember the actual storyline so I can refresh the old noggin. ^^;; Hope you enjoy this! Please review! :D

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The machine reved, and I cringed as the gears inside began to turn. I crawled out from underneath it before I could be caught in the devices, wiping my forehead of the dust and grime. The others in the room were starting up other machines, each jumping at their awful roaring sounds. No matter how many times any of us had heard the noises, we still felt a shock at their horrid moanings. 

I was about to take to cleaning the floor when a familiar face crashed through the door, waving his arms around and catching everyones attention.  
"Everyone! Everyone!" he cried. His name was Raoul Booker, one of the youngest of us all. "Everyone, hurry up, stand to attention, all of you! The master is coming this way in his carriage!"  
"The master?" Commotion built up amongst us all. Each child put away their cleaning instruments and stood neatly in a line, tallest to smallest. 

I was at the end. The smallest of the bunch. 

We were all the same age range; about fourteen to eighteen. I was sixteen and the littlest of the lot. I wasn't pestered about this though, as we all had more important and worse things to worry about. 

"He's coming!" 

"Be quiet! Don't say anything unless you're spoken to!" 

And just like that, when the door was opened, the entire room fell silent. 

Our master, slim yet bold, standing tall with his cane in hand, stepped into the room. His eyes wandered without a twist of his head, and I held my breath as he almost seemed to scan us each in turn. I was the last.  
He nodded to himself before turning to face us. His brows pulled together and he made a short noise through his nose. He looked back into the corridor where we could not see and gestured as though something was waiting on the other side. 

"Come on, boy. We haven't got all day." 

There was a pause. The quiet air hovered. I heard the tap-tap of slow footsteps on the crooked stone steps. And then I saw a face peering around the door, walking inside hesitantly after the master. 

He stood before us, staring as though he was almost puzzled. He was rather short but taller than I, thin yet strong looking and undoubtedly confident. His crimson eyes gazed upon each of us like a hawk; his hair was more than similar to mine, standing up in thick black spikes bordered by a highlight of red, and blonde streaks cascading upwards into it. 

And he looked at me first. Unlike anyone else, he looked at me. And he smiled. 

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So, uh, yeah, that was the first little...chapter? Or was it a prologue sort of thing? Anyways, I know it was short but there shall be another update soon! ^^ Please review!


	2. Chapter 1

I think I hate this chapter... Sorry for the really long wait for an update but I'm not gonna say when there should be another one because you will all just be disappointed! Hope you enjoy this even though it's short and I barely like it at all. Review please! 

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"A good morning to you all," said the master with a flick of his cane.  
He was putting on this kindness of course – we all knew that and anyone could see it. Our master did not feel for others in any shape or form.  
"Won't you welcome our new guest?" he continued, gesturing toward the boy. Or perhaps he was a man; it was difficult to tell considering the bold look on his face (although this was beginning to quiver when our master put him on the spot).  
He looked away from the crowd, adjusting his clothes awkwardly while the younger children stared. The master pushed the boy with the tip of his cane harshly, but smiling as the boy turned round in annoyance.

"Was that necessary?" the boy asked. His voice was low and deep, and there wasn't much force behind his words which made them drift like silk in the air. It was what he had said that did the damage.  
"Was that necessary?" the master mocked, shoving his cane into the boy's back this time, causing him to lurch forward. When he did not stumble, the master knocked him to the floor, laughing as the boy yelled out in surprise.

"You're here to work," said the master scornfully. "Not to make comments. You want to survive in this place? You shut your mouth and listen. This is where you eat, sleep and work now – so get on with it. And that means all of you."

With that, he turned, seemingly sticking his nose into the air and stepping as though there was something nasty on the floor. This, of course, was the new boy.  
When the master had gone and the door had been closed, every other child went to their stations and got on with their work as they did every day. But not me. I stepped forward and tilted my head as the boy lifted himself from the floor.

"Are you all right?" I asked him as he stood before me. I was right – he was taller than me though still short. I noticed how similar his features were to mine and felt rather confused, but ignoring this, I smiled in my most friendly way.  
The boy nodded. "Yes. Thank you."  
"Sorry," I said to him. "You're not going to find this place particularly pleasant."  
He laughed a deep chuckle. "I assumed worse. I've been to four factories in the past two weeks – this is heaven compared to them."  
"Four? Why?"  
The boy shrugged. "They don't really like my attitude. I'm not bad, it's just that I don't agree with some of the things the owners do to the children that work there. I tend to get a little argumentative."  
"Really?" I asked, baffled. "I wouldn't try that here if I were you. You'll get no food for the week, and the master will give you the cane and-"  
"Trust me. I've had worse."  
"What's worse than the cane?"  
The boy looked uncomfortable for a moment. "You know those old tricks they use in asylums? Well, let's just say that they were the more friendly punishments compared to the really nasty things I've seen."

I stared at him for a moment in disbelief, feeling my jaw slipping open as I imagined the terrible scenes in my head. I heard screams in my mind that I had never experienced in real life, sounding so real that they actually terrified me. The boy's intense gaze toward mine was so serious that I felt I wanted to look away immediately, but somehow I couldn't. The images became more vicious and I tried to blink, yet he continued to stare at me with his vivid red eyes as though driving the thoughts in my head – the gore, the shouts, the cries of pain that tore through my skull -

"So, what's your name?" the boy asked suddenly. As soon as he spoke the scenes had vanished, and my mind was washed with sane thoughts again. My eyes still stayed steady on him but I was so confused. Had they just been simple thoughts in my head? Just dreams?

"My n-name?" I stuttered back. "I…I'm Yugi."  
"Yugi," the boy repeated, before holding out his hand. "Pleased to meet you."  
I shook it hesitantly. "Hello."  
"My name's Yami," he smiled. "Will you show me what you do here? Is that all right?"

I nodded without thinking, feeling a little foolish as I now felt a little more conscious around this boy than I had before. He gestured politely for me to walk on, and I did, with the boy, or still possibly man, stepped in unison with my own walk. I don't know how I felt it, but I was sure that while I strode on, the boy's eyes were burning into my back just as they had imbedded the demonic sights in my head. 


End file.
